Decorative illuminating system



Dec. 5, 1939. E c HANSON 2,181,889

DECORATIVE ILLUMINATING SYSTEM Filed March 23, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1fnuenfi IarZ Cflanson Dec.'5, 1939. E. c. HANSON 2,131,389

DECORATIVE ILLUMINATI NG SYSTEM Filed March 23, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 7[zzuezzi'fir ZT'arZ C Hanson new so craz WM @3 Patented Dec. 5, 1939UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application March 23,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to display devices and more particularly to asystem of utilizing gas .filled envelopes free of any electricalconnection to an exterior source in conjunction with a base orbackground device carrying means for transmitting high frequency waveenergy to the gas in the envelope when the envelope is placed in closeproximity to the base.

In carrying out the present invention, the gas filled envelopes may takeany desired shape or design, utilitarian or otherwise. However, it ispreferred to utilize envelopes which are so shaped as to perform someuseful function as for example glass tubes bent to form letters orreceptacles having in a portion thereof a sealed chamber containing thegas.

The invention contemplates filling the gas chamber of the envelopes withany one of many gaseous combinations such for example'as plain neon gasfor giving its characteristic color, a neon and mercury vaporcombination, argon gas, helium and argon in combination to produce ablue and white effect, and, of course, either of these gases may becombined with any one of the other, as is well understood in this art,and with other gases such as xenon and krypton and carbon dioxide. Thegaseous fillings may be either pure or contain a certain amount ofimpurities which in many instances enhance the variations in colordisplayed.

It is the principal purpose of this invention to provide a combinationwith the above mentioned envelopes of a supporting base or table havingtherein conducting elements charged with 35 high frequency electricenergy capable of being transmitted to the gas in the envelopes when theenvelopes are placed in various positions on the table. In connectionwith the table, it is preferable that the envelopes take the form ofsome device normally used on the table such for example as ash trays,drinking glasses, goblets, stirring rods, etc. The high frequency energysource is so conducted to the table or other base member as to make thehigh frequency energy available only at certain well defined portions ofthe surface of the base member.

The invention also contemplates the construction of a device of thischaracter wherein the gas which is made luminous by the high frequencyenergy transmitted thereto can be made to vary in color as the envelopeis moved with respect to the base which carries the high frequencyradiating mechanism. It has been found that, by varying the position ofthe gas envelopes between two capacity areas, the design in the gaschanges,

1936, Serial N0. 70,489

and the color also varies with the change in position of the envelope.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description, reference being had to the accompanying draw- 8ings wherein the preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to beunderstood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrativeonly and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except in so faras it is limited by 30 the claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a small perspective view of a pedestal tableembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view with a part of the top broken away of the top ofthe table shown in Fig.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 is a sectional view on. the line 4-4 of Fig.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the parts shown in Fig.3;

Fig. '7 is a view of front elevation of a sign embodying the invention;

Fig. 8 is a view on the line 8-8 of Fig.7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view taken on the line 9-9. of Fig. 7; Fig. 10 isa diagrammatic view of the circuit employed; and

Figs. 11 and 2 are diagrammatic views of the energized capacity elementsfor radiating the high frequency energy.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, I show the invention as appliedto a table of the pedestal type and to a sign of the panel type. Threedifferent forms of gas filled envelopes are disclosed. For example, inFig. 1 an ash tray 5 and a cen- 40 tral ornamental figure 6 areprovided. The showing in Figs. 7 to 9 includes a gas filled tube 1 whichcontains any one of the suitable gases and which may be bent into anydesired shape.

The central ornament 6 as well as the ash tray 5 is provided with a gaschamber. These ornaments are preferably constructed of a suitable glassof the Pyrex type. The particular glass being used is that made atComing and which 60 has beenused for the construction of the hugetelescope lens that is to be installed in California. The gas filledenvelopes 5, 6, and 'l are applied to any suitable base which separatesthem by means of a dielectric sheet from a pair of capacity elementswhich are energized from a suitable source of high frequency current.

In Fig. 1, the envelopes 5 and 6 are shown as resting upon a table topI9 which is supported by a pedestal ii upon a base l2. The table top I 9is preferably a laminated structure which has a top layer l3 made of asuitable dielectric such as glass, one of the synthetic resin compounds,or other suitable dielectric. Backing up the dielectric sheet I 3, theremay be a second layer 14 also of dielectric, or insulating material suchas wood, and a third and fourth layer l5 and I6 may be provided to givea substantial body to the table top. Between the layers 13 and I4, Iprovide a capacity element l1, theform of which is shown in Fig. 11.This capacity element is preferably made of metal foil laid between thesheets l3 and I4. Directly beneath the sheet 14 and resting upon thelayer I5 is a second capacity element l8 which is shaped substantiallylike the element 11 and is composed of the same material, namely metalfoil. There is one variation made from the element l8. It has onesection l9 laid between the sheets l3 and I4 so as to be in line withthe element 1. This portion 19, however, is spaced horizontally from acentral portion 29 of the element I 1 and does not connect with theelement 11 at any point. The two elements 11 and I8 have terminalmembers 2| and 22, respectively, which terminal members project throughthe layer 15 and are adapted to contact a pair of contact pins 23 and24.

High frequency oscillations such as are applied to the capacity elementsl1 and I6 tend to produce disturbance on radio receiving sets in thenear vicinity unless proper precautions are taken to prevent thistrouble. In the present instance, this dimculty is prevented byproviding a metal band 25 around the table top 19 which metal band isgrounded by means of a conductor 26, connected, by means of a contactpin 21, to the pedestal ll of the table which pedestal is in turngrounded upon the base l2 as will be readily understood. The table topI9 is secured by gluing or screws or other suitable means to a mountingdisk 28 which mounting disk is secured to a metal plate 29 carried bythe top of the pedestal ll.

The plate 29 has a pair of insulating bushings 39 and 3| in which thecontact pins 23 and 24 are mounted. This plate and the pedestal II aresecured to the disk 28 by screw bolts 32. The pedestal ,II is in theform of a cylindrical metal sleeve that is clamped between the plate 29and the base l2 by means of a pair of rods 33 and 34. The base l2consists of a casting 35 and a shell 36. The shell 36 has an annularflanged opening 31 at the center, and this opening is covered by a ring38 which has a curved rim portion 39 hooking over the flange around theopening and serving to position the lower end of the pedestal II. Therods 33 and 34 go through the ring 38 and through the casting 35 and,are secured by means of a pair of nuts 49 and 4|. A foraminated screen42 is secured to the ends of the rods 33 and 34 by a pair of nuts 43 and44.

The rods 33 and 34 serve as a supporting means for an oscillator tube45, fuse elements 46, a transformer 41, a condenser 48, and a primarycoil 49 with its secondary 59. These elements 45 to 59 constitute themeans for transmitting suitable high frequency oscillations to thecontact pins 23 and 24 as will be readily understood in connection withthe description of the circuit to be made hereinafter.

The oscillator tube 45 is mounted in a suitable base 51 which is carriedby a plate 52 of insulating material. The plate 52 is threaded on therods 33 and 34 and is held in proper position by a pair of spacingsleeves 53 and 54 of insulating material which sleeves are threaded onthe rods 33 and 34. The tube 45 is prevented from working out of itssocket by a spring support 55 carried by screen 42. This screen permitsair to circle around the tube and prevents overheating. The fuseelements 46 are supported upon a. plate 56 which is spaced from theplate 52 by a pair of sleeves 51 and 56 threaded on the rods 33 and 34.The transformer 41 is carried by a suitable frame 59 which is alsoproperly located on the rods 33 and 34 by means of spacer sleeves 69 and6| of insulating material and a pair of sleeves 62 and 63 interposedbetween the top and bottom flanges of the frame 59. The condenser 48 iscarried by a'plate 64 which is threaded on the rods 33 and 34 and spacedfrom the transformer 41 by spacer sleeves 65 and 66. Similarly, theprimary 49 is supported on the rods 33 and 34 above the condenser 48 bymeans of a plate 61' and spacer sleeves 68 and 69. The secondary coil 59extends down inside the primary coil 49 and has a flange 19 which restson a plate 1| threaded on the rods 33 and 34 above a pair of spacersleeves 12 and 13. A pair of spacing sleeves 14 and 15 space the plate1| from the metal plate 29, and the-metal plate is held in place by apair of nuts 16 and 11 screw threaded on the upper ends of the rods 33and 34. The terminals of the secondary coil 59 lead to the contact pins23 and 24 as shown in Fig. 3.

As shown best by Figs. 1 and 5, the condenser 49 may be adjusted byinserting a tool through an opening 18 provided in the pedestal II toengage with a shaft 19 of the condenser 48. Any suitable means such asthe ordinary flexible cord may be used to connect ordinary 110 volt 60cycle alternating current to the transformer 41. Suitable condensers andchoke coils may, of course, be supplied in the input circuit of thetransformer 41 to prevent the high frequency oscillations from being fedback into the 60 cycle line.

Referring now to Fig. 10 which is a diagrammatic showing-of the circuitemployed, the transformer 41 is shown as receiving its current from asuitable source of alternating current at 110 volts and 60 cyclesthrough the fuse 46. A pair of filter circuits 89 and 8| including chokecoils 82 and 83, condensers 84 and 85, and a grounded plate 86 areconnected in the primary of the transformer 41. The transformer 41supplies the oscillator tube 45 through its secondary, and thisoscillator tube in turn supplies current to the primary coil 49 with thecondenser 48 connected across the primary coil 49, as will be readilyunderstood. The secondary 59, as shown, leads directly to the contactpins 23 and 24 which contact the capacity elements I 1 and I 8,respectively.

Referring now to Figs. 7, 8, and 9, the capacity elements 11' and I8correspond to the elements 11 and I8 described inconnection with thetable and may be supplied from a circuit like that shown in Fig. 10. Inthis case, the display device is supported on a block 99 which may beplaced upon a show case or any other suitable support for displaydevices.

On the block so 7 there is mounted a panel or base member 9| againstwhich the tubes 1 are mounted. The base member 9| may be constructed ofany suitable dielectric such for example as an opaque glass. On the backof this base 9| are located the elongated capacity elements I1 and I8,and these elements are covered by a backing 92 of a suitable dielectricmaterial.

In order to support the envelopes 1, these envelopes are provided withtips 93 which are also utilized in sealing off the envelopes when theyare pumped and filled with the desired type of gas. The tips 93 projectthrough suitable holes 94 provided in a metal strip 95 that is mountedon the block and at its top is provided with a flange 96 in which theholes 94 are located. The strip is also provided with a raised bead 91in front of the holes 94 which is utilized to hide the holes 94 from theobserver.

In order to line up the envelopes l by pressing them against the basemember 9|, a resilient backing member 98 is inserted on top of the block99 in position to engage against the tips 93 when they are shoved downinto the openings 94. This backing member 98 may be constructed of anysuitable material such as sponge rubber, and its front face 99 ispreferably made sloping so as to have a tendency to tilt the envelopes 1against the base member 9|.

Referring now more particularly to the device shown in Figs. 1 to 6inclusive, this device may be used in a great number of places and, ofcourse, is only given as a specific example of the means of utilizing asupporting surface as a source of illumination for utilitarian objectssuch as glasses, ash trays, and the like which have chambers thereincontaining a gas which can be made to glow when subjected to highfrequency oscillations.

With the circuit plugged into an alternating current source, the tableis ready for operation with the capacity elements I! and I8 receivingenergy from the current source. Now, if a device such as the ash tray 5be placed over any part of the elements H, the gas therein will beenergized by high frequency radiations and will produce light of acharacteristic color depending upon the type of gas used. The lightfollows rather closely the shape of the elements l1, and I have foundthat, by making these elements such as H in the shape of any desiredcharacter, letter, or figure, this character letter or figure will bereproduced in the gas so as to be visible in the bottom of the device 5or a similar device. Thus it is possible to have any letter or series ofletters that are not visible on the top of the table become visible bymerely passing a gas envelope such as 5 over them.

I find also that different lighting effects can be obtained in the gasas the envelope is moved away from a position directly over the parallelelements l1 and I9. As the envelope 5 is moved along the table in ahorizontal direction, that part of the gas in the envelope which isdirectly over the element I! will be most intensely lighted while thatpart which is spaced from the horizontal element I1 will have adifferent and less intense illumination up to a point where theillumination ceases entirely. Similarly, in the case where the portionIQ of the member I8 is at the same level, but horizontally spaced fromthe element l'l, an envelope placed over either the portion l9 or theelement II will be caused to glow brilliantly with the characteristiccolor of the gas predominating in the envelope, and movement of theenvelope from its position over one of the elements toward the otherwill cause changes in the color of the illumination due to changes inintensity of the field between the elements. In this fashion, it ispossible to get an infinite number of combinations of lighting effectsby varying the shapes of the envelopes and their contents and by varyingthe shapes of the capacity elements i1 and I9.

The features and advantages of the presentinvention will, it isbelieved, be readily apparent from the foregoing description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings. While thevessels to be illuminated are preferably made of glass it is to beunderstood that they may be made of glass substitutes or materialsimilar to glass and the word glass as used in the appended claims isintended to mean either glass or similar material.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A display combination for illuminating glass vessels having sealedchambers filled with a gas capable of being made luminous by a highfrequency wave transmitted thereto by a radiator, a table comprising apedestal and top, said top being made up of a plurality of layers ofdielectric material, and interposed therebetween, two layers of metalfoil extending over only a portion of the table top, said two layers offoil being of substantially the same shape, one directly above the otherand separated by one of the layers of dielectric material, said pedestalsupporting the top and having means therein for translating ordinary lowfrequency current into high frequency current which is connected to oneof the layers of metal foil and whereby a high frequency wave is emittedfor illuminating the gas filled chambers when placed directly over thefoil.

2. A display combination for illuminating glass vessels having sealedchambers filled with a gas capable of being made luminous by a highfrequency wave transmitted thereto by a radiator, a support for saidvessels comprising a top, a sup-- porting structure for said top, saidtop being made up of a plurality of layers of dielectric material and,interposed therebetween, two layers of metal extending over only aportion of the top, said two metal layers being arranged one directlyabove the other and being separated by one of the layers of dielectricmaterial, said supporting structure having means therein for translatingordinary low frequency current into high frequency current which isconnected to one of the layers of metal whereby a high frequency wave isemitted for illuminating the gas filled chambers when placed directlyover the metal.

3. A display combination for illuminating glass vessels having sealedchambers filled with a gas capable of being made luminous by a highfrequency wave transmitted thereto by a radiator, a support for theglass vessels comprising a supporting structure and a top, said topbeing made up of a plurality of layers of dielectric material and,interposed therebetween, two layers of metal extending over only aportion of the table top, said two layers of metal being separated bythe dielectric material, said supporting structure supporting the topand having means therein for translating ordinary low frequency currentinto high frequency current and conducting the high frequency current tothe metal layers whereby a high frequency wave is emitted forilluminating the gas filled chambers when said vessels are placeddirectly over the metal.

4. A display combination for illuminating movable glass vessels havingsealed chambers filled 5 with a gas capable of being made luminous by ahigh frequency wave transmitted thereto by aradiator, an article offurniture forming a support for the glass vessels comprising asupporting structure and a horizontal top made of dielectric ma- 19terial, a plurality of spaced metal members within said top underneaththe top surfaces thereof w aromas and extending underneath only aportion of said surface, said support having means therein fortranslating ordinary low frequency current into high frequency current,and means for conducting the high frequency current to the metal memberswhereby a high frequency wave is emitted for variably illuminating thegas filled chambers when moved about on said .top adjacent to said metalmembers.

